:Good genealogy collection with good indexes, many biographies, family folders, county and local histories for the entire state.<ref name="DB83" /> 25,000 local histories, 5,500 genealogies, city directories, ''New York State Vital Records Index'', local vital records, 110-drawer card index of the Local History File about people, places, and things in Western NY, church and cemetery records, genealogical and local history periodicals, newspapers, maps, military histories, ethnic research resources, indices to passenger lists, immigrant ships, and English parish records.<ref>[http://www.buffalolib.org/content/grosvenor/genealogy-collection Genealogy Collection] in ''Buffalo and Erie County Public Library'' (accessed 21 November 2013).</ref><br><br>

:Good genealogy collection with good indexes, many biographies, family folders, county and local histories for the entire state.<ref name="DB83" /> 25,000 local histories, 5,500 genealogies, city directories, ''New York State Vital Records Index'', local vital records, 110-drawer card index of the Local History File about people, places, and things in Western NY, church and cemetery records, genealogical and local history periodicals, newspapers, maps, military histories, ethnic research resources, indices to passenger lists, immigrant ships, and English parish records.<ref>[http://www.buffalolib.org/content/grosvenor/genealogy-collection Genealogy Collection] in ''Buffalo and Erie County Public Library'' (accessed 21 November 2013).</ref><br><br>

This branch of the National Archives has records created by federal agencies and courts in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The archives has naturalization records, internal revenue service records, customs lists, and records of the U.S. District Court of Appeals. They also has microfilms of all available federal census records, many naturalization records, court records, passenger lists for New York City and other ports, Revolutionary War military records, some Civil War service indexes, and World War I draft registrations. The staff will make photocopies for a fee.[1]

This is one of the largest research libraries in the world including excellent genealogical resources. The library has city and telephone directories, vital records indexes, local histories, genealogies, federal and state censuses, passenger lists, genealogical collections (including DAR transcripts), and church records.[1] For maps, write to the Map Division at the same address. Guides and catalogs to this important library include:

Largest Huguenot collection outside of London, including records from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, and colonial America since the 1600s.[1] Topics include Huguenot history in France, Huguenot history in other countries, church history, French history, American history, biography, genealogy, manuscripts, societies, periodicals, and theology.[2]

The New York State Archives has the original records of New York government jurisdictions. The collection includes manuscripts, statewide vital records indexes, documents relating to land grants, land survey maps, alien deposition records, military records, state court records, prison records, Erie Canal passenger lists for 1827–1829, wills, and estate records. The archives collection also has microfilms of some state censuses and the original census returns for 1915 and 1925.[3][4]

The Family History Library has very few of the state archives records on microfilm. The state archives makes photocopies and performs limited searches of indexed records for a fee, but it does not circulate microfilms of land and vital records. The guide to the collection is

The Humanities-History section has local histories, genealogies, atlases, church and cemetery records (including the Daughters of the American Revolution collection), city directories, microfilmed newspapers, microfilmed federal and state censuses, microfilmed passenger lists, and periodicals. The Manuscripts and Special Collections Section houses nongovernmental maps and manuscripts. The library staff will make photocopies for a fee.[3][5] Catalogs and guides to the library's genealogical holdings include:

Melinda Yates, Gateway to America: Genealogical Research in the New York State Library, 2nd ed. (Albany, N.Y.: University of the state of New York, State Education Dept., New York State Library, 1982). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Book 974.7 D23y.

New York State Library Card Catalog File of Vital Records in the History and Genealogy Section ([Albany, New York: New York State Library, Photoduplication Department, 1979?]). At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Fiche 6332544. Microfiche of hand and typewritten cards.

New York State Library (Albany, New York), Surname Card Index ([Albany, New York: New York State Library, Photoduplication Unit, 1979?]). FHL Fiche 6331486. Surname catalog of the American History and Genealogy section of the New York State Library.

Emphasis is on the early Dutch, but their collection actually also includes all ethnic groups of the Atlantic coast and colonial America.[1] For New Netherland studies, especially genealogy and family history, 3,000 regional histories (present day New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Ohio), 3,000 family histories and genealogies, and 1,000 books on genealogical research, early American history, the Netherlands, Dutch language, art, and architecture, and religion, including Dutch Reformed Church parish records.[6]

The historical society has extensive collections of manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals, histories, city directories, maps, and photographs.[1] Major topics: New York City and State history, colonial history, American military history, religions, slave trading, biography and genealogy, and New York City photographs, and records of several major charities such as the Children's Aid Society, and the New York Foundling Hospital (which were both involved in the orphan train movement sending orphans away from big cities into rural foster care).[7] A helpful guide is

Regional

One of the best U.S. collections on the economic and social life and culture of Albany and the upper Hudson Valley region, including the best indexes to original records, documents, 1000 linear feet of manuscripts, 85,000 photographs, Bibles, and rare books of families from the 1600s through the colonial period to the present.[3][8]

Very large collection of manuscripts, biographical files, family folders, obituaries, cemetery transcripts, city directories, maps, photos, marriage records, and books with a cross-indexed card file covering the history of the Bronx, New York City, and Westchester County.[1][9]

General history, especially the natural, civil, literary, and ecclesiastical history of the United States, the State of New York, and villages of Long Island, personal and family papers, municipal records from the towns and villages that consolidated into Brooklyn, Dutch and English settlement on Long Island, and New England immigrants to Suffolk County. Great indexes to family names.[1][10] See

Good genealogy collection with good indexes, many biographies, family folders, county and local histories for the entire state.[3] 25,000 local histories, 5,500 genealogies, city directories, New York State Vital Records Index, local vital records, 110-drawer card index of the Local History File about people, places, and things in Western NY, church and cemetery records, genealogical and local history periodicals, newspapers, maps, military histories, ethnic research resources, indices to passenger lists, immigrant ships, and English parish records.[11]

Cornell University has a large collection of Protestant church records for western New York, as well as histories, maps, newspapers, and New York censuses. Rare books and manuscripts are outstanding, and they publish the best research guides to New York counties.[3] They also have Africana, American Indian, and Latino collections.[12]

By appointment only. This library has unique sources for early Hudson River migration, steamboats, industries, and culture.[3] 4,000 rare books, 3,000 manuscripts, as well as maps, pamphlets, and microfilm to explain the cultural and historical significance of the Hudson River Valley[13]

Very large collection, but has more sources for upstate New York, including manuscripts, periodicals, family folders, books, maps, biographies, county histories, genealogies of New York State families, church and cemetery records, newspaper indexes, census records (1790-1930), and city directories.[3][15]

Very large collection of 10,000 family folders for northeastern families, histories of Syracuse and Onondaga counties, photographs, diaries, correspondence, business records, maps, newspapers, and African American sources.[3][16]

Most of the Holland Land Company (1789-1869) land grant patents for western New York, and northwestern Pennsylvania are found here.[3] Collections also have American Indians including primarily the Seneca, with some for the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Tuscarora tribes, local histories for Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, and the bordering counties in New York and Pennsylvania, manuscripts including church papers, and databases.[18]

Staten Island was a gateway to immigrants who moved farther west. The Society's collection emphasizes colonial records, but includes the WPA index cards of deeds, Vosburgh Church Indexes of tombstone inscriptions and dozen churches (not Catholic), genealogical correspondence, city directories back to 1883/1884, real estate and insurance maps, and photos organized by town, then street.[1][19]

These archives contain early Dutch notarial records about what is now New York State, the Holland Land Company (1789-1869) land grant papers for western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania (also available from the Family History Library), and records of some early New York settlers living in Amsterdam before moving to America.

Guides

Estelle M. Guzik, ed., Genealogical Resources in New York (New York: Jewish Genealogical Society, 2003). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Book 974.7 D27gg. Information on more than 100 archives, including 52 government agencies and courts, 32 libraries, and 20 other archives in the New York metropolitan area.

Barbara Kronman, The Guide to New York City Public Records, 4th ed. (New York: Public Interest Clearinghouse, 1992). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Book 974.71 A3k. Includes chapters on city government, courts, libraries, and personal information. Shows how to obtain vital records, name change records, and naturalizations.

Alice Eichholtz, ed., Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, Rev. ed. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry, 1992). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Book 973 D27rb 1992). Includes addresses of county courthouses, surrogate courts, and county records centers.

Elizabeth Petty Bentley, comp., County Courthouse Book (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1995). At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Book 973 D24bena). Addresses of county courthouses and some town clerk's offices and surrogate's court offices along with brief descriptions of holdings and services.

Cornell University has published a series of guides to the records in each of New York's counties (except Nassau and Suffolk). The series is titled Guide to historical resources in _______ County, New York, repositories. These guides inventory records, including family history and genealogy, at 1,700 historical societies and libraries, but they do not include public records at courthouses. They are listed in the Family History Library Catalog Author Search under Cornell University. New York Historical Resources Center. New York County has 7 volumes; Kings County has 3 volumes; and Chautauqua County has an added update.